1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which reproduces a pair of color component signals whose time axes have been compressed and which have been sequentially recorded in a time division mode on each of the tracks of a recording medium other than those on which, for example, a luminance signal is recorded.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To achieve recording/reproduction of a video signal having high picture quality and high resolution, a color video signal is separated into a luminance signal and a pair of color component signals (R-Y) and (B-Y). These separated signals are conventionally recorded on different tracks. At the time of such recording, the time axes of the color component signals (R-Y) and (B-Y) are compressed 1/2 so as to be successively recorded on the same track within a time interval of one horizontal period. During reproduction, the color component signals thus recorded are written into a memory in response to a write clock signal having a predetermined frequency and are read out of the memory in response to a read clock signal having a frequency half the write clock signal frequency. In this way, the time axes of the pair of color component signals (R-Y) and (B-Y) are expanded to provide the interval of the original color component signals. At this time, if a sufficient interval is not provided between the write operation and read operation, the write operation and read operation are often partially overlapped so that normal reproduction operations cannot be carried out. Especially, in a VTR (video tape recorder) in which rotary magnetic heads are switched at every half revolution, a prephaser (variable delay circuit) cannot follow transient time axis variations occurring immediately after the rotary magnetic heads are switched (so-called skew). As a result, when the color component signals are input to a time axis expansion circuit, normal time axis expansion of the color component signals cannot be achieved.